Focus and Scope
World Christianity is a field of study that encompasses analysis of the histories, practices, and discourses of Christianity as is found on six continents. The Journal of World Christianity is particularly concerned with comparative studies of both local forms of Christianity in the areas in which it has historically existed or presently exists, and with the place of Christianity in inter-religious dialogue, the history of interactions between Christianity and persons of other faiths, and interactions between Christian groups separated by confessional, ecclesiastical, geographical, or geo-political divides.
Emanating from the Jerusalem of the first century BCE, carried through diasporic movements of persons and communities, Christianity has for two thousand years been expressed through diverse ecclesiastical traditions. It has been shaped by diverse linguistic and cultural practices, and has been informed by a multitude of world historical and cultural experiences. It is not a ";Western religion,"; and in that sense no more natural to Italy than to China. The academic field of World Christianity hence seeks to apply the resources of various academic disciplines in which scholars now operate to further understand both the diversity of local expressions of Christian life and faith situated in the world, and the variety of ways that these interact with broader histories, movements, and discourses. It is both critical and constructive.
The Journal of World Christianity proposes, by its very conceptualization and organization, an explicit recognition that neither North American nor European academies are the center of the phenomena studied in the field of World Christianity. Simply put, there is no center. The Editors and Editorial Board met at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University with the aim in mind of devising an academic journal that is collaborative, built upon a network of professional relationships that is international and diverse, and which depends for its success upon the integration of the journal with the questions and concerns faced by Christian communities in our respective locales, or those that we purport to study. A further decision was made by the Editors to forego the standard print version of an academic journal and launch a web based journal in which it would be possible to accomplish more than one may do with text alone. One immediate benefit of this arrangement is the ability to publish in multiple languages without the limitations imposed by most North American or European scholarly presses. Another benefit is the ease with which we may provide access to the journal to various communities, academic institutions, and professionals around the globe whose library provisions may not equal those of North American or European institutions. Internet cafes abound where libraries may not. Thirdly, the cost of publishing and distributing the journal is kept to a minimum -- creating the possibility of less reliance upon specific academic institutions and funding agencies. But, finally -- and most importantly -- the Journal of World Christianity as an electronic product more closely mirrors the very field in which the journal is established: it is the ";decentralized network"; that is the internet itself.
The Journal of World Christianity takes as its point of departure that ";World Christianity"; is not synonymous with ";Third World Christianity"; or other such euphemisms. Nevertheless, the journal is particularly concerned with under-represented and marginalized Christian communities, and this will necessarily result in a greater degree of attention being paid to Asian, African, and Latin American contexts, and the experience of women globally. And although the field is not synonymous with mission studies, and by no means reducible to it, the history of Christian missionary activity will remain vitally important to many studies that the JWC will hope to publish.
As a field of study World Christianity has historically emerged from the former seminary disciplines of mission studies, ecumenical theology, and the academic study of world religions. However, it is important to note that the journal is open to but not constrained to theological studies, and neither is it solely the provenance of those committed to the Christian faith. The journal invites contributions from all disciplines, regardless of religious conviction. We especially wish to engage the broader disciplines of the social sciences and humanities, and therefore invite contributions from across the spectrum of the academies in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australasia.
Overview of the Editorial Process
The editorial process for each issue or posting to the Journal of World Christianity (JWC) web site shall normally consist of a manuscript submission, blind peer review, decision by the Editors on whether or not to publish the submitted article, final revisions, copyediting, and publication. All articles academic in nature will be blind peer-reviewed, by a minimum of two reviewers, according to the best practices of established academic journals. On occasion the Editors may request reviews from persons who are not university or seminary professors, but who, in the judgement of the Editors, are best suited to review the material at hand. The Editors have the latitude to reject articles before submission to peer review at their judgment and discretion, and to accept or reject articles at any time after the review process has begun. Upon acceptance or rejection of any submission, the Editors will inform the author by e-mail of their decision in a timely manner. Notification that the JWC has declined to publish a submission may or may not, at the Editors' discretion, be accompanied by suggestions for revision. A summary of the anonymous peer reviewers' notes will accompany rejected submissions. Resubmission of work that has been previously rejected is subject to the judgment of the editors, the needs of the JWC, and whether there have been revisions made. Upon acceptance of an article by the Editors, publication will be scheduled according to the needs of the JWC -- including decisions made concerning the coherence of any particular issues. The JWC will be responsible for copyediting, layout and proofreading, and final publication.
Editors
The Editors act to provide oversight to the intellectual content of the journal, as well as to ensure appropriate academic standards. The Editors will also delegate tasks necessary to the journal, such as copyediting, layout, and web site management, to persons recruited for such tasks. Occasionally the Editors may appoint Guest Editors for the needs of a particular issue, who will assume all responsibilities of the Editors for that issue or the term of their assignment. In consultation with the Editorial Team, the Editors may also create and manage JWC issues, and notify users of new issues and/or events. The Editors will work cooperatively with the larger Editorial Team composed of national and international scholars, and ensure that their concerns, suggestions, and directions for the JWC are adequately addressed.
Editorial Team
The Editorial Team consists of national and international scholars who are invited to serve in this capacity for a period of three to five years. They are responsible for remaining engaged with the intellectual content of the field of World Christianity, assisting in the recruitment of authors who may be invited to submit articles, assisting in the planning of thematic issues, acting occasionally as guest editors, and managing the network of contacts and relationships that the JWC hopes to cultivate in as many corners of the globe as is possible. The Editorial Team may work with liaisons in their home locations or areas of research, encouraging persons to also assist in the recruitment of articles from promising local scholars, and ensuring that their concerns, recommendations, or issues that they would like to see addressed are adequately considered.
Book Review Editor
The Book Review Editor will be responsible for maintaining contacts with academic and relevant trade publishers, following up on leads and suggestions made by the Editors or Editorial Team, and managing all processes for acquiring the books to be reviewed. The Book Review Editor will solicit reviews from qualified persons, and may request suggestions from the Editors and Editorial Team in order to find the right persons. Books for review and proposed reviewers, as well as books for which reviewers have been recruited, may be managed from the JWC web site. The Book Review Editor will ensure the receipt of timely submissions from reviewers, assure the quality and propriety of the reviews according to accepted academic standards, and then forward the approved review to the copyeditors. Parties interested in having a particular book reviewed should contact the Book Review Editor directly.
Documentation and Resource Editor
A unique provision of the Journal of World Christianity is that it will, on determination of the Documentation Editor, publish on its web site documents, manuscripts, reference sources, and other materials pertinent to the study of Christianity in any area of the globe. This resource is intended to provide archival or other primary source materials that may be useful to scholars, as well as local narratives, histories, and data collections as may be relevant and useful. The Documentation Editor will seek to collaborate with the Editors and larger Editorial Team in obtaining, assessing, and preparing for publication any such materials, and will depend greatly upon the cooperation and assistance of all persons involved with the JWC. Parties interested in suggesting or providing materials appropriate to this section should contact the Book Review Editor directly.
Authors
Authors are, of course, the bulwark of the JWC, and theirs is the most basic and necessary function to providing for the content of the journal and assuring its academic standards. Interested authors may submit work that they deem of an academic nature, appropriately researched and documented, worthy of publication in an international journal, and potentially of interest to the JWC. There is no submission schedule, and submissions are invited at any time.
ReviewersPotential Reviewers are invited by email to review articles that have been submitted for publication. The Reviewer will be provided a title and abstract, as well as the journal's URL and a username and password for accessing the Reviewers' Section of the JWC site. In some cases, the editors may agree to send the submission as an email attachment -- in which case, the Reviewer then responds by email. Management of the review process through the JWC web site is the preferred option, ensuring that transactions are timely, adequate record-keeping is managed, and that potential authors may track the process of their submissions (protecting the anonymity of the Reviewer). The Reviewers shall agree to make every effort to review and provide comments on submissions within 30 days of receipt.
Copyeditors, Layout Editors, Proofreaders
Upon approval of an article for publication, and upon receipt of any requested revisions, the publication process commences with the Copyeditor. It is not the Copyeditors responsibility to re-write the article, and copyediting processes in most cases consist of ensuring the completion of the article (including all footnote information), ensuring appropriate style guidelines (spelling, punctuation, formatting), and working directly with the author in case of particular needs or questions that may arise. The final decisions regarding copyediting, however, remain with the Copyeditor. Persons responsible for layout will format the text according to the HTML style templates for the JWC, adding hyperlinks where necessary. Finally, a proofreader will ensure the final accuracy of the work performed thus far before the article is finally posted. Proofreading will be limited to languages in which the Editors and Editorial Team can recruit qualified persons for any particular article. The author may track and participate where necessary in all post-approval editing processes via the JWC web site.
Section Policies
Editorial
 Open Submissions |
 Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Articles
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Book Reviews
Editors- Akintunde Akinade, Georgetown University
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Documentation
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Archiving
This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. More...
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